Lynn students helping needy in San Francisco

LYNN – Two Lynn residents and Malden Catholic High School juniors spent part of their summer on the Left Coast this year as part of a school-wide community service effort spanning the globe.In all, eight of the school’s students from Lynn, Revere, Malden, Melrose, Wakefield and Stoneham are participating in the community service projects this summer.Lynn natives Daniel Travers and William Cannon participated in the Young Neighbors in Action program, a social justice effort in coordination with St. Pius V parish in Lynn. High school students from across the country take part in the Young Neighbors in Action program, which gives students an individual service assignment from feeding the hungry to helping the needy with everyday tasks.Cannon and Travers visited San Francisco in July for eight days, where service assignments included helping mentally challenged adults, cleaning public housing and assisting at day camps for underprivileged children.Describing the trip as an eye-opening experience, Travers said he doesn’t take anything for granted anymore.”You really learn to appreciate what you have after you see first-hand what these people live like,” he said. “They don’t exactly have the extras that we have. They’re not poor, but the conditions are rough.”Travers, 16, said he worked with children ages 3 to 12 at the San Bruno Bible Camp, where he taught the kids math, read scriptures and prayed with them on a daily basis.”I loved the experience, it was great,” he said. “I’d always known about the group, but I wondered what it would be like to participate since I belong to St. Pius. Everyone told me I would have a great time and I did.”Last year, Travers said he traveled to Omaha, Neb. with the same program, where he took part in more manual labor jobs.”For this trip, we joked around saying we wanted to go to San Francisco, and we ended up getting chosen to go there,” he quipped. “I’m going to try and go somewhere again next year too.”Malden Catholic junior Robert Bucchino Jr. of Revere also took part in the community service project, and traveled to the Dominican Republic with seniors Daniel and David Smith of Wakefield and junior Sean Sweeney of Melrose.They traveled as part of the St. Anthony’s Parish of Revere youth group, which dedicated its time this summer to helping repair and rebuild Catholic churches and schools in that country’s neediest areas.Other students participating traveled to Worcester County to help serve the poor and San Bartolo, Peru for service with the needy.”Our school community is blessed by the witness of the unselfish spirit of service these young people are demonstrating,” said Malden Catholic Director of Campus Ministry Mary Driscoll. “What a wonderful group of young men.”The service assignments range in time from 18 days to a month and help to fulfill students’ community service requirements.